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Picking up from last night, at 10:15ish at night, I got a call from the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center. The nurse called to tell me that they were transporting Susie to the emergency at the local hospital, now called OHSU Hillsboro, previously known as Tuality Health Care. Susie was bleeding in her mouth, and they could not stop the bleeding; Susie is on blood thinners. My vision was something from a horror movie, and I was in my car and waiting for her to arrive, having rushed. I was relieved when I saw it was a slow bleed. Susie and I were placed in the hallway; I was given a chair and spent the next few hours there; we were never moved to a room.

The doc found that Susie’s gums were bleeding and that this could be a side effect of the blood thinner. Gauze and a drug were applied to the bleed, soon stopping. By just before 2, we were done, and Susie was discharged, and medical transport service was called to take her back to Forest Grove. I carefully drove back to the Volvo Cave.

At about 2AM, I took my pills and had a tiny sliver of pumpkin pie as I needed to take my pills with food. Any excuse for pie is a good thing. I went to bed and soon was asleep.

Today, Tuesday, started with me ignoring my alarm and stealing another thirty minutes of sleep. Today, I forgot, was a back to the Office day, and so I would need to drive across Beaverton to my old building; I have not been there for years now except when I stopped by once to get a chess set when they asked us to take all of our personal items home. I showered and dressed fast. I called into the meeting because I was late while driving; Zoom video showed me at the wheel. I was only 15 minutes late.

The return to the office came with swag. I got a coffee cup and a bag of cool Nike items. Also, mimosa drinks were served from a pushcart driven by our VIPs for the project, and so I was drinking before 10AM, only at Nike! Lunch was paid for and supplied from two food carts, one Mexican and the other Mediterranean food. I sat at a table and ate.

Coffee was free all day from the coffee folks, Starbucks, of course, downstairs.

Subha, Annie, and Brad joined me for lunch.

I spent most of the first day back in the building working with tech support to make my laptop work again. I cannot describe that here. I did finish the rebuild of my laptop at home.

After lunch and when the work on my laptop reached a point where I could finish the rebuild at home, I drove to the Forest Grove facility at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A, from the Club House Nike building. There was another party in the later afternoon with ice cream, but I was fatigued. So instead, I took 26, the Sunset Highway, to Jackson School Road and took the back way to Forest Grove. It was a more leisurely, and I think, faster drive.

Susie was asleep, as was her roommate Terry when I got there. I suspect they got no sleep last night with all the adventures for Susie. I woke Susie and called her mother, Leta, on my iPhone. Susie kept sleeping during the call, and Terry was back to sleep, so it was a short call.

I checked, and there was no more bleeding, and Susie’s vitals were stable and familiar values. The nurse aide said they had no bleeding issues all day. Good.

(You can see Susie’s flowers I brought in on Monday. She was so tired. This is the best smile I could get)

I spoke to Dan, the administrator for the facility. He was concerned and asked the staff to be careful with Susie. The team believes the blood thinners were to blame but will carefully clean Susie’s mouth and teeth.

I drove back and enjoyed the nice summer-like weather. Finally, I got home and set up my Nike laptop to finish its rebuild. I then rested for a bit.

Corwin and I made dinner, pasta as a side, pork chops, wilted green beans with almond slices, and butter-cooked mushrooms, all with a bottle of the finest North African red sauce. Delicious.

I read and rested after dinner and then got up to write the blog.

The alarm went off at 6:15AM with me having been asleep for only a few minutes. I had woken before the alarm at 4 and 5 and then every ten minutes. But, I still managed to fall completely asleep just before 6:15 and was startled awake.

I then put on my robe and logged into my Apple and my Nike computer. I was still getting strange behavior on my Nike computer, so I finally called the help desk. We discovered that my last password change had only partially updated and that my laptop needed to have new certificates so the password change would take. Unfortunately, the help desk was unable to solve the issue. I now have a ticket to fix my problem; no fix was provided today.

I managed to fit in a shower before my first meeting.

I next had my first Zoom meeting with my boss Brad. I did have to log into the network and Zoom twice to get the meeting to work. It was nice to see Brad again, and we talked about my health and my wife’s options as she gets better. I will follow up with Brad’s conversion team and master data.

After that meeting, I met with the data conversion team and reviewed the recommendations to improve the software.

Next, I was out of meetings, but I did drive Corwin to work and picked up my lunch at Wendy’s. I wanted a taco salad and a baked potato to add to the salad. But, it was too early for a baked potato. I heard the manager asking why someone wanted a potato in the morning. That made me laugh, and I imagined the manager saying, “Who would want a potato at 11:30 on a Monday. WTF!” So, I ordered some fries instead.

I ate my salad and a medium fry for lunch. Then, I followed email for the afternoon and repeatedly tried to restart my computer to see if the help desk had fixed my issue.

Next, it being noonish, I headed to the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A. It is a twenty-minute trip which gives me about twenty minutes there if I want to use just an hour. I am still trying to figure out to see Susie every day and return to work. So I plan to skip lunch and drive to her most days; I will have to see her in the early evening on some alternative days. Again, I am still trying to work this out in my head.

Susie was just finishing lunch when I reached her at the table near the nurses’ station. Susie has graduated to thin liquids! I also spoke to the rehab department, and they are working with Susie on most days. They are pleased with her improvements already.

Susie was happy to see me, but my visit had to be very short, confusing her. However, I did get to replace her flowers with the new ones, which brightened her room and made her very happy. In addition, I managed to call Leta, Susie’s mother, and have Susie chat with her for a bit on my iPhone.

I forgot to take a picture.

I had to head back and was back online with Nike by 1:30. I spent the afternoon reading email and trying to get my laptop to work. I also reconnected with folks and will have a busy day on Tuesday as I dive back into Nike.

I, staying with the food for lunch, cooked the potato skins with cheese and bacon in the freezer from Schwann’s. I made a salad to go with it. Sticking to, as Glenda suggested, eating the food I already have.

I then made a pumpkin pie. I had bought the stuff last year and never had time to make one with Susie being in the hospital through Thanksgiving and Christmas. So I got out the recipe from an old label from Eagle Condensed Milk that I keep in my recipes. This is the same pie I have made for twenty years.

It came out OK, and I have to admit I had two hot pieces. It is better cold, but I wanted something sweet with happy memories. Pumpkin pie works.

I watched a bit of the new film Murder on the Nile. I have seen it, but I wanted to see it again. I like this version. I read the book just a few months ago and then sent my copy to Mom Wild. She wanted to try it.

Aside (rant): I was agitated by the news that Roe Vs. Wade would be overturned. The draft order from the Supreme Court was leaked, and I read through it. I was shocked to read that a 50-year decision would be reversed by so-called conservative justices. I was expecting a narrowing which would be a conservative decision, but for the court to reverse the law of the land that has held for fifty years is, I will say it, unprecedented and radical. The argument that it should be overthrown that I read did not match my understanding of the court. I am shocked and certainly do not believe that Roe Vs. Wade was so flawed a decision by the previous court that it must be reversed as stated by the order. I am flabbergasted.

So a very confusing and challenging day for me. I am tired and freezing again.

 

I started the day a bit later, I was up late playing games in Portland on Saturday, and the morning came too soon. I rushed and finished the blog and breakfast before 9:20. A record writing speed. I then managed to do the 10:30 church service.

The service was a bit chaotic as we had communion, which always is confusing. Today we fell into old habits that we should avoid when Covid-19 is still burning. But, next time, we will get it right. I served communion to folks in the pews once we fell into old habits.

Next weekend is Mother’s Day, and I have to cook pancakes with Zophia and the Methodist Men. It seemed that Mother’s Day was far away, and now it is next Sunday. Oh my!

After leaving the church, I stopped by the Volvo Cave to change out of my tie and white shirt. Unfortunately, I forgot the flowers I bought at WholeFoods for Susie but remembered the computer. So I traveled directly to Forest Grove as I might have lunch later with Mariah.

The Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center, I got there, and Susie was having lunch. She finished about 1/3 of her meal. She had cuts on her face from her glasses. I usually see these cuts from Susie falling and forcing her head into her eyeglasses. I checked with the nurse, and they said there was no record of a fall. I am concerned, but there is no bruising, so I am unsure how Susie cut her face with her glasses. Maybe she slept in them.

I pointed out the cuts and the previous unexplained cut on Susie’s head which is mostly healed now. The nurses will keep an eye on the cuts and on Susie.

I forgot to take a pic as I was distracted by the tiny wounds.

We called into a Zoom meeting but had a weak connection. Susie got to see a few church folks. I try to make the after church Zoom meetings and brought the laptop so we could connect. Again, the poor connection made it a short meeting for us.

Susie did get to talk to her mother on my iPhone. They had a friendly chat for about twenty minutes, but Susie got tired.

I kissed Susie goodbye after I took her to her room. I asked the nurse aides to help Susie get back to bed to rest. I kissed her one more time and left.

The trip back was uneventful, but a few cars decided that we were on a race track. I ignored them and went at a safe speed, and changed lanes with care. Then, Mariah contacted me, and lunch was off.

I decided on a taco salad for lunch now that I was eating by myself. I forgot that Wendy’s, not Taco Bell has a taco salad. So I got some genuinely terrible food from Taco Bell instead of having the salad I wanted. I listened to OPB public radio while parked and eating. The recipe for the food I ordered had been changed and was made with artificial cheese sauce instead of heated shred cheese as before–ugh. Never again!

I got home regretting lunch and took a short break. I was getting tired. I read and slept a bit.

I got up and had some fresh artisan bread with low sugar jam for a snack. I was not ready for dinner after the food from Taco Bell.

I took Air Volvo to the other side of Beaverton to play Dungeons and Dragons. I got to enjoy the usually failed rolls and some successful ones. I play a drunken monk, and we advanced to the fourth level, so I have all the starter powers of the class. So I staggered through combat, now getting bonuses to disengage and move faster with my drunken attacks. But, I did manage to miss almost every saving throw (apparently my monk was more drunk than usual) and thus was charmed by the forest creatures and then held motionless by spells from my own players! While so frozen, I was able to play a mushroom non-playing character, yes, a singing and dancing mushroom that reminded me of something from Frozen, and the mushroom made all of its rolls! It was a fun night of gaming.

Aside: If you can revel in your failed rolls in Dungeons and Dragons, it is so much more fun. Yes, I failed all my rolls when the dragon shot down the air balloon, but I managed to crash it perfectly and took no damage.

I am now exhausted, and it is hard to write, but I have to write this at the end of the day with me back to work. So sorry if it seems rushed tonight. I am exhausted.

Thanks for reading and I hope I can keep up the writing with my return to work on Monday.

I started the day at 6:30, thinking it was strange not to sleep in on the weekend, but I got started anyway (I did sleep in until 7:30 on Sunday). I managed to get going, missing Glenda, who stayed with us for two weeks, and write the blog and read emails and news items. I had to be in Forest Grove before 10 this morning, so I rushed.

I was clean and dressed and ready to board Air Volvo by 9:20. I then drove in unusually heavy traffic for a Saturday to the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A. I reached the facility using the back entrance before 10AM.

I managed to use the touch screen to electronically record my status for Covid-19 (no exposure, no tests, no symptoms, and so on) and headed to Susie. She was, as I was expected, still in bed. I woke her.

Apparently, breakfast was in bed with someone feeding Susie before I arrived. While she has made good progress and her hands are working better, she cannot lift a spoon with much dexterity. Also, Susie is still on pureed food as the stroke damaged her ability to swallow. Asperating anything into her lungs would be a disaster, and previously her left lung collapsed from an infection caused by her inhaling water and food into her lungs. No repeating that!

Michelle from Allegiance Seniors Care was on time and brought an RN with her. I helped them enter and then did the touch screen Covid-19 check-in. We headed to Susie’s room, and they met with Susie, who was still in bed. They asked Susie some questions, and most she could answer. Susie’s use of language was much improved, and she had a few conversational answers. We answered a few questions about food preferences and if Susie can stand on her own (not at this time). The purpose of the meeting mainly was to meet and greet, and Susie was happy to talk to someone new.

Michelle and her RN left after about thirty minutes and would start the process of moving Susie to their adult foster care at Allegiance Seniors Care, 9925 SW 82nd Ave, Portland, OR 97223. This is going the other direction (northeast towards Portland) instead of west towards the ocean and a more leisurely drive for me. Susie’s new home will be just after the Washington Square Mall on Hall Street and adjoining Metzger Park. Easy.

I stayed with Susie until after 11AM, and she was sad to see me leave so soon, but I had a strangely busy day for a Saturday and soon had a kiss goodbye and off to WholeFoods.

Zoraida came after I left and met with Susie. They had a nice visit.

Returning to my narrative, there were more masks than I expected at WholeFoods, about 30%, and everyone still kept to social distancing. As usual, there are a collection of people picking and packing groceries for delivery. The staff is mainly masked. I pick up flowers for Susie (to be delivered on Sunday), milk, eggs, bread, bananas, and some extra meat items. I plan to use the frozen ham and some extra meats to make Jambalaya (no seafood this time) which needs various meats. I got some hot fatty sausage from our local Olympic Provisions meat company: Smoked Chorizo. I got an artisan loaf for dinner with me, believing that buttered bread would go well with dinner.

I brought that home and found room for everything. Finally, I started rigging a model of a balloon I am making for Dungeons and Dragons. I could not work on it during the last cycle of chemotherapy as I was too ill to use any extra energy for model building. I picked up the circle with tiny metal hooks and started attaching a line to each. Then I take a smaller thread and make a binding for the loop. I cheat with a bit of fast-drying cyanoacrylate glue from a brush bottle. I learned about the bush bottle by watching an expert modeler, Alex Modeler, use it. So much better than trying to use the typical bottle with too large or too small of a nozzle. I managed to do four out of the six before my back and hands reached a limit. I need to not overdo this too.

I also started my Nike laptop trying to let it update and resettle into the Nike network after three months. It was a lot of re-logging in and providing my password over and over which was not always accepted. I think it is ready to use on Monday.

I read for a while and then started dinner. I defrosted some ham pieces and added some excellent kielbasa I also bought at WholeFoods. I had noticed that the sausage in my last meal from Nona Emillia’s was cut into small squares. So I just cut the sausage length-wise. I heated the meat with no oil; the chorizo made plenty of oil until it was browning and the pan was almost burning (almost a disaster). Next, I added stewed Italian-styled shopped tomatoes–was did not find any Mexican flavored that I preferred, but the Italian version was good. I deglazed the pan with the tomatoes by rubbing the bottom of the pan to get all the good brown bits into the pot. I added two cups of water and the rice package from my fav mix, Zatarain’s. I let it simmer on low for twenty-five minutes once it reached a boil. It was perfect.

I watched some news while eating. Glenda left out some butter, so the bread was easily buttered. I cut the artisan loaf. I have to admit I might have taken seconds! It was not a good mix for a diabetic, but it was delicious.

I then drove to Richard’s house to play the somewhat regular Saturday night games. We started this time a bit late, 7PM. I got to Portland and Richard’s house without issue and light Saturday night traffic. I missed the traffic jam at 4-6PM that I usually hit when headed in early for a game in Portland.

Kathleen and Richard were up for the board game Unsettled. This is a new cooperative game that is a SciFi story of survival. It hints back to the grand-daddy of cooperative games, Pandemic, but uses a more role-playing style than we usually see on board games. Also, the game allows the other players to do things during other players’ turns, important things, so the game turns are much more exciting and well cooperative. The game was designed in Vancouver, just across the river from Portland; I know the game designers.

Unfortunately, we died–it was my first three-person game, and we did have some inefficiencies I did not expect from three players, but I think everyone had a good time. Kathleen’s brain hurt, I think, a bit after the game as it can be intense. Richard, while impressed, was still happy to play my copy. It is a very unusual game and very different from other cooperative games–I think it will hit the game table more in the future.

I drove Kathleen home; she lives south of Portland. We chatted about her work and game design and the Kickstarters we support. I got Kathleen home after 11:30PM and reached the Volvo Cave after midnight. I then had a bagel; I bought two more to use up the cream cheese from New York City, took my pills, and was soon asleep before 1AM.

Returning to a narrative, I started the morning by being woken by my iPhone at 7:00 after sleeping most of the night, getting up at 3ish to prove hydration. Glenda was up at the sunrise and noticed that I was up 30 minutes later. I made coffee and had the other half of the poppy muffin I ate the day before. It is a travel day for Glenda; Susie’s aunt is returning to North Carolina today via an all-night flight on Delta.

While I write the blog and take it slow, I am more tired than yesterday and might be overdoing it a bit. It takes me about 90 minutes to write the blog on Friday. I also look at my personal email and read enough news to know what is happening in the world while writing.

After that, I get dressed. I also load Air Volvo with three more boxes, primarily books, to give to GoodWill. Finally, I put the dead vacuum in Air Volvo. We decide to have lunch and then drop off the items before seeing Susie. Glenda continues to dust and vacuum with the new machine.

Lunch is leftovers, and soon we drop the dead, nearly Viking-funeral-ed vacuum at the SBS recycling near the house. There is no fee for vacuums. Next, we head in Air Volvo to the Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A. We forgot to stop off to give away the books and also failed to stop at The Pink Spoon for some frozen treats.

We arrive without incident and pass the manual entrance steps using the touch screen. We find Susie is up in her wheelchair at the tables near the nursing station. Susie is just finishing lunch when we get there. We hang out with her for a bit, and she finishes lunch. Then, we agree to return with a treat and head off to The Pink Spoon.

The place is not busy on a Friday afternoon, but we are the only folks with masks. Everyone keeps their distances still, which is a surprise to me. Soon we are the only ones at a table and having a little snack. I collect some chocolate and vanilla gelato for Susie and one for Terry, Susie’s roommate, and get them to go.

We return without incident, using the back way into the strip mall and the facility to avoid the Pacific Highway traffic. Soon Susie and Terry are having a bit of dessert, but both have it put in the frig and will eat it for dinner.

Glenda and I move to the quieter lobby and call Leta, Susie’s mother, on my iPhone, and they have a friendly chat on FaceTime. We take a few pics, and soon Susie is tired-out. She asks to return to her room, and we find a nursing aide to help. I watch, and Susie is just lifted into bed. She is still a sack of wet noodles and can’t walk or stand. While she has had some rehab on balance and standing, she still cannot stand.

With Susie in bed, we head out and return to the Volvo Cave. We remember to stop by GoodWill, and the books and other items, the last load with Glenda here, are handed over.

We get back, and I am tired, and Glenda needs to finish packing. Glenda does some laundry and tries out the vacuum on the carpet. It works well, and soon the canister is full. It seems about one room to a canister unload. Glenda packs two boxes of books to send to her in North Carolina; not all were given away. The complete set of Narnia and all the Brother Cadfael mysteries are among the books headed to North Carolina!

We reheat the Italian we brought back from Nona Emilia yesterday, plus a few other leftovers. I chop the veggies for a salad while Glenda cleans the lettuce. The food is good on the second day, if not better.

Glenda finishes up the packing and gets dressed to travel. We load up Air Volvo and make the drive to our award-winning airport simply called by its call letters: PDX. The Pacific Northwest says goodbye to Glenda by raining for most of the drive.

I dropped off Glenda at the Delta entrance without incident, and her last text said she was at the gate 90 minutes early. I head back, and Air Volvo seems on autopilot as I have driven this trek many times.

I return home and connect with David and Michelle Smith, and we use Disney+ group watch to enjoy the next Moon Knight episode together. Again, while I like this show, it is hard to predict, and the story is chaotic. Today’s show was, while well done, crazy. The blue giant Hippo goddess was a unique special effect! I liked it.

After that, we chatted for a bit, and then I headed to bed at 11:30ish and was asleep before midnight.